This year, A.W. Becker Elementary welcomed their first service dog, Rocket, and his owner Mr. Berchtold to their school community. Together they have been spending time doing quick visits in different classrooms around the building so that the students and staff could get to know them better.
Recently Rocket took a trip to Mrs. Engelhardt’s pre-kindergarten classroom. The students had a great time partaking in a number of activities to learn more about their new friend Rocket. The students took turns guessing how old Rocket is (six years old) and measured how tall he is standing up against the different students in the class (he was not the tallest). These activities were used to help the students feel more comfortable and confident around Rocket.
“The students loved the unique experience of hands-on learning about service dogs and how they support our community!” said Mrs. Engelhardt. “We can’t wait to have him back!”
Rocket also had the opportunity to demonstrate his service dog skills, the students took turns placing a hand on him so they could feel how calm he was. This showed them that his calm body brought a sense of calm to their bodies. Rocket was incredibly interesting to the students, and this led to many curious questions. One of the questions they asked spurred a conversation about the different types of service dogs that exist in our communities, including health-related and police service animals.
The students had a great time with Rocket and learned a lot!
